Aditya Thackeray describes meeting with Kejriwal a ‘gesture of friendship’

New Delhi: Days after AAP lost the Delhi assembly polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray met Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday with a message to strengthen the fight for "free and fair" elections. Delhi BJP said the statement issued by AAP on behalf of Thackeray reflected its "desperation". Thackeray described the meeting as a "gesture of friendship". "Govts keep coming and going but relationships continue. We met Kejriwal as a gesture of friendship. However, our democracy is not free and fair. Elections are not free and fair," he told reporters after the meeting. He was accompanied by party MPs Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Sanjay Dina Patil and Bhausaheb Wakchaure, among others. Thackeray earlier met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday. Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and AAP are constituents of the opposition's INDIA bloc. Thackeray said there was an urgent need for the INDIA bloc to strategise its next move. "In this election, the Election Commission played a significant role. The BJP had its blessings," Thackeray said, reiterating Shiv Sena (UBT)'s charges that the voter count in Maharashtra increased by 47 lakh, which affected the poll outcome last year. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor accused Kejriwal and Thackeray of engaging in "personality-driven" politics. "It is unfortunate that these rejected leaders are misleading the public," he said. PTI